CHAPTER 53**

053 - The Downfall

Thanks to the hole the breath attack had torn open, Jinwoo easily cut across the temple.
The further he went, the more he could feel an extraordinary energy. It seemed Kalesian was right when he said the dragon had blasted a straight path to the divine object.

Strangely, the temple was empty.
There were no Hunters making offerings or undergoing trials, nor were there any other races.
Even…
‘I don’t see any so-called Guardian.’
The Guardian that Kalesian had been so wary of was nowhere to be seen.
Was it hiding somewhere? But that seemed unlikely, as Jinwoo had already reached the depths of the temple.
In the room just ahead, he could already see an unusual object that appeared to be the divine artifact. If he just crossed this one room, it would be within his reach.
‘Where could it be hiding?’
Perhaps it was holding its breath quietly, like a hunter stalking its prey.
It might be waiting for the moment the target grabs the prize—the moment he himself obtained the divine object.
It could be waiting to ambush him during that single moment of carelessness.
‘But that’s strange, too.’
A Guardian, by its very nature, exists to protect a divine object.
Would it really use the very thing it’s supposed to protect as bait, deliberately waiting for the moment it gets stolen?
Furthermore, he couldn’t sense any Blue Flame nearby. That meant, at the very least, there were no living creatures with souls in the vicinity.
‘Well, the latter could be explained if it’s a golem or some other magical creature.’
When one thought of a Guardian, the first image that came to mind was a golem.
If it were such a being, the absence of a Blue Flame would make sense, so Jinwoo did not let his guard down for a second.

However, his tension proved to be for naught as Jinwoo entered the room containing the divine object with far too much ease.
It was an extraordinary item, entangled in the air with the energy of the sky like a cluster of threads.
‘Is that… a scabbard?’
At a glance, it looked like a scabbard. It was black, but upon closer inspection, a mysterious galaxy was embroidered upon its surface.
The material seemed to be leather, but he couldn't be sure.
Jinwoo was no craftsman, and in truth, even a master craftsman like Bulkar wouldn't have been able to identify it.
The material that formed the scabbard was an object from the 6th Floor, the Spirit Realm.
It was a material that could not be found in this world.
‘So, I just need to take that.’
The fact that the Guardian was still nowhere to be seen bothered him, but with the prize right before his eyes, he couldn't just stand there.
Jinwoo raised his sword to cut through the sky-blue energy surrounding the scabbard.

At that moment.
Ruuuumble—!
As expected, the God of the Sky hadn't been sitting idle. In that instant, the hidden Guardian appeared.
‘This is…’
The room Jinwoo was standing in—the room of the divine object—began to expand at a terrifying rate.
What had been the size of a single room rapidly swelled to the size of a city, then a continent, and finally, a star.
Naturally, the divine object that had been right in front of him was now far in the distance, positioned on the opposite side of the continent. The distance had become as vast as that between South Korea and Uruguay.
‘An illusion domain? Is this the true identity of the Guardian protecting the divine object?’
He instinctively realized that this was a type of mental magic, similar to an illusion.
The old Jinwoo might have suspected it was an illusion, but he wouldn't have been able to see through it.
But now, having eaten the Golden Apple and undergone a transformation of body and mind, he possessed the intuition to discern the Guardian's true nature.
However, knowing it was an illusion didn't mean he knew how to break it.

[The God of the Sky scoffs.]
[Wander for eternity. Beneath my sky.]
The God of the Sky openly sent a message of ridicule.
How could he possibly find his way under this vast sky? There was nothing to eat or drink there. Whatever he had stored in his sub-space was finite; eventually, he would die of starvation or dehydration.
Under the endless, ocean-like expanse of the sky, Jinwoo remained silent.
[The God of the Sky declares victory.]
[This is my victory.]
The illusion magic cast by a god, a Monarch, was indeed on another level.
During his fight with Johann, he had seen magic that controlled souls, as well as brainwashing, hypnosis, and curses. But this domain was in a completely different league.
This illusion was no longer just an illusion; it was indistinguishable from reality, affecting his body and mind directly.
The Guardian placed to protect the divine object.
Its true form wasn't some other creature, but a trap personally set by the Monarch himself using his own power.
‘No wonder Kalesian said a single S-class Hunter wouldn't stand a chance.’
He now understood why Kalesian hadn't acted alone and had tried to recruit him instead.
Not just one S-class, but a truckload of them would have no way of escaping this power.

However.
‘This is the power of Erosion.’
This power, this trap directly infused with the Monarch’s might, was steeped in the energy of Erosion.
This wasn't an indirect method of bestowing blessings or conveying intent through a divine object. This was a trap set by a Monarch of Erosion with his own hands.
Because it was Erosion, it was all laid bare before Jinwoo’s eyes.
He could clearly see which path was the gate of life, and which were the dangerous gates of death and demons.
‘Kalesian’s division of labor was correct.’
He had said he would handle Lin Shenlin himself and entrusted the divine object to Jinwoo.
Of course, Kalesian didn't know the Guardian's true identity. Nor did he know what kind of power Jinwoo possessed over Erosion.
That decision had been made naturally, following the flow of events.
‘But in the end, it was the right call.’
Against Lin Shenlin, who wielded demonic energy instead of Erosion, Jinwoo's abilities didn't offer much of an advantage. It would have been a pure clash of power.
Conversely, Kalesian would never have been able to break through this planet-sized domain woven from the power of Erosion.
To find the divine object within this place, he would have had to search an entire star.

He knew now.
Erosion was not something to be feared. At least, not for him.
Look at this. Even the power wielded directly by a so-called Monarch of Erosion was this clearly visible.
It was not he who should fear Erosion, but Erosion that should fear him.

Flames soared like mountains, trapping Kalesian and Lin Shenlin and creating a circular arena.
The goal was to keep Lin Shenlin from interfering with Jinwoo, but from Lin Shenlin’s perspective, this was a welcome development.
“You can’t run anymore.”
He could finally cut down Kalesian, who had been flitting about and dodging like a gnat.
If Kalesian had landed on the sky island and fought him head-on from the start, the battle wouldn't have dragged on for this long.
The only reason Kalesian had survived until now was because he had avoided a direct confrontation with Lin Shenlin, employing hit-and-run tactics.
But now that he had trapped himself within the arena, there was no longer any escape.
‘Jinwoo! Hurry, if you can. I don’t know how long I can hold him!’
Uncharacteristically, a bead of cold sweat trickled down Kalesian’s brow.
As a Dragon, he was always brimming with confidence, but he couldn't afford to be so against Lin Shenlin, who was fully blessed by a god.
“Keuk!”
As Lin Shenlin’s sword fell, the spells Kalesian cast were torn apart like paper.
Fire and lightning were useless, and even summoning a waterfall—though not his preference—changed nothing.
No spell could withstand his sword, and many were even ripped apart at the magic circle stage, failing to activate at all.
Still, magic was all he had. Discarding the torn spells without a second thought, he continued to weave dozens, hundreds of new magic formulas.
“Hmph!”
Lin Shenlin snorted as he dealt with the spells.
He was, after all, someone who had fought head-on with adult Dragons on the 5th Floor.
While he couldn't overwhelm an adult, he was skilled enough not to be easily defeated or lose.
Just reaching that level was enough to be considered one of the strongest in this world.
To such a man, Kalesian’s magic was truly child’s play.
“Kuaaaargh!”
His magic wasn’t just being shattered; Lin Shenlin’s demonic energy began to slice through Kalesian’s scales.
Though his magical knowledge was that of an adult, his body and mind were still those of a hatchling. In terms of absolute physical class, he was outmatched.
He couldn't hope to hold his ground against a Lin Shenlin who was empowered by a god's power, unleashing more than double his usual strength.
‘Dammit, I can’t let this end so quickly.’
Of course, escaping was possible. If he left the battlefield and fled now, he could easily shake off any pursuit.
But that would also free up Lin Shenlin.
A free Lin Shenlin would immediately return to the temple and stab Jinwoo—who was fighting the Guardian—in the back.
If Jinwoo died, it would be his defeat. The chance to seize the god's divine object would be lost forever.
And it wouldn’t just be the God of the Sky; the other gods would surely strengthen the defenses around their own divine objects.
That would also mean the shattering of his desire to learn about the 6th Floor.
‘My life, or my aspiration?’
Should he risk his life here and now to hold Lin Shenlin back to the very end, or should he save his own skin and toss aside the aspiration he had held for thousands of years like a worn-out shoe?
There was nothing to think about.
If he were the type to choose the former, he never would have made the choice to descend to Earth in the first place, rather than molting.

‘Breath! One more time!’
Instead of fleeing, he opened his mouth once more and fired a breath attack.
The most powerful and destructive secret art a dragon possessed. A beam of light fired using the power of the Dragon Heart, which held an absolute gravitational pull over mana.
“Hmph, this pathetic….”
A hatchling’s breath was nothing. Scoffing, Lin Shenlin raised his sword.
The blade, cloaked in demonic energy, took aim at the beam of light from the sky. As if to say he could slice through something like this with ease.
Thwump!
At that moment, an arrow embedded itself in his shoulder.
“Keuk! Who’s there?!”
It was no ordinary arrow. It was a heavy, iron-forged bolt, not some light piece of wood.
It was the kind of projectile better suited for a ballista than a bow.
The iron itself seemed to have undergone a special process, for it contained an unbelievable amount of power.

Outside the arena of fire, hidden high in the trees of the Moonlight Forest where even Kalesian’s flames couldn't reach, Ipril was concealed in silence.
TWANG!
She drew her characteristically thick bow. It looked effortless, but the muscles in her arm were twitching tremendously.
Though she used a sword and shield, her main weapon was this bow. All the muscles in her body had been developed for the sole purpose of drawing it.
The arrow she fired flew not in an arc, but in a straight line, piercing through the flames and striking Lin Shenlin.
“Kuaaaaaaah!”
Lin Shenlin roared in fury. That momentary distraction had thrown off the timing of his sword strike.
‘Dammit!’
He hurriedly brought his sword down, but it was too late. The beam of light was already slightly closer than he had aimed for.

Back in the room where the divine object had originally been, the distance between Jinwoo and the object was short.
Six steps.
It was a distance he could have covered in just six steps.
The domain had been cast from that close range.
‘Therefore, I should be able to reach it in six steps from within here, too.’
Since this was an illusion, he should be able to reach the divine object on the other side of the continent in just six steps.
It would be strange if he couldn't.
‘One step.’
With the first step, he crossed the sea.
An ocean as vast as the Pacific folded in on itself with a single stride, and Jinwoo was across.
‘Two steps.’
With the second, he traversed the continent.
He wondered if this was what the legendary sages who used the Earth-Shrinking technique felt like. It truly felt as if he were folding the very ground to move.
Of course, it was all happening within the illusion.
And so, three steps, four steps, five steps.
On the sixth and final step, Jinwoo arrived before the scabbard.
[The God of the Sky is horrified.]
[This is impossible!]
The one who had so confidently declared victory just moments ago was now screaming.
With that scream as his background music, Jinwoo reached for the scabbard.
The Erosion energy enveloping the scabbard threatened to harm him as he reached out, but…
Shhhk!
It couldn't withstand Jinwoo’s sword and was completely sliced away.
[Stop! Stop!]
The severed Erosion energy refused to give up and wrapped itself around the scabbard like a cocoon, trying to protect it.
Jinwoo paid it no mind and tore the scabbard from within the cocoon. He forcefully cut down all the obstructing energy.
As if in a final act of defiance, the scabbard trembled, but even that subsided when Jinwoo gripped it firmly.
[Stoo—aaaaah…]
The voice of the God of the Sky, which had been screaming for him to stop, grew more and more distant.
Having been robbed of his divine object, he could no longer easily connect to the lower world.
‘Serves him right.’
Pleased with the result, Jinwoo held up the scabbard and smiled.
And then.
[The Temple of the Sky has collapsed.]
[The God of the Sky has been stripped of all authority on the 3rd Floor, Pandemonium.]
[All of the God of the Sky’s contribution points and blessings will now disappear.]
The news of the downfall of the Temple of the Sky echoed throughout all of Pandemonium.